Not a bad show of mourning for a tyrant who subjected his country to 17 years of torture, repression and mass murder.

As the two-day funeral ceremony for ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong Il began yesterday, it was the signal for an all-ages orgy of synchronised sorrow meant to show how bereft the North Korean nation is without him.

North Korea carried
out a meticulously choreographed funeral for its late leader Kim Jong Il
today and affirmed that the country was now in the 'warm care' of his
son.

Kim's youngest son and
successor, Kim Jong Un, walked slowly next to his father's hearse as
mourners lining the procession route in Pyongyang wailed in ostentatious
displays of grief.

Live footage from the North Korean capital is rarely seen outside of the insular communist dictatorship.

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Passing the torch: North Korea's next leader, Kim Jong Un, front left, salutes beside the hearse carrying the body of his late father and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during the funeral procession in Pyongyang, North Korea

The
tightly stage-managed funeral seemed to be a message from the country's
ruling family that they remain in tight control despite the death of
their figurehead.

Dressed in a dark overcoat, the
younger Kim - the focus of the proceedings - bowed his head slightly against the snow, and raised his
right arm in salute to the late 'dear leader'.

Tens of thousands of mourners stood in
freezing temperatures, wailing and holding onto each other for support
as the parade passed by.

Those who grieved kept an eye on
their neighbours, careful not to be out-sobbed in front of the state
cameras which sent the images around the world.

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Experts on the country say
yesterday’s emotional scenes would have been stage-managed with the aim
of portraying a nation united in grief, hence making the handover of
power more secure.

Jim Hoare, a former British chargé
d’affaires in Pyongyang, said: ‘I’m sure there are people in North Korea
who are upset, worried, concerned. But a lot of this is how people are
expected to behave. They are told, “Go and show your grief”.’

As the snow fell from a grey sky soldiers stood in lines with their heads bowed, many with tears streaming down their faces.

Regimented mourning: The funeral procession makes its way past ranks of spectators in a highly-rehearsed and orchestrated ceremony

Farewell: Weeping North Koreans lined the streets of Pyongyang to bid goodbye to long time leader Kim Jong Il

Mobbed: Mourners crowded around the hearse carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Il through the streets of the capital

'How
can the sky not cry?' a weeping soldier standing in the snow said to
state TV. 'The people ... are all crying tears of blood.'

Some
of the pictures purporting to show grieving North Koreans at the
funeral were actually released by the country's state media yesterday,
to ensure they would be available for news agencies to illustrate their
coverage of the funeral.

No expense spared: The funeral procession of the late 'dear leader' Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea today as his son and successor Kim Jong Un accompanies the coffin

Tribute: A giant portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was carried past mourners on the procession route

Like his father's in 1994, Kim Jong
Il's coffin was wrapped in a red flag. A limousine carrying a huge
portrait of a smiling Kim led the procession, and soldiers followed the
hearse and lined the streets. The footage was accompanied by
rousing military music.

The procession passed by a billboard with a
slogan praising the 'revolutionary ideas of Comrade Kim Il Sung,' Kim's
father and the country's revered founder.North Korean state media said the
memorial route was about 25 miles (40km) long, though top officials did
not walk the entire route.

Meticulously organised: Those who grieved made sure they were not outdone by their sobbing neighbours

Outpouring of grief: North Koreans react during their late leader Kim Jong-il's funeral procession in Pyongyang

Salute: North Korean soldiers (left) stand to attention as a portrait of Kim Jong Il drives past (left) as Kim Jong Un pays tribute to his father (right)

Walking
behind was Kim Jong Un was
Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the
powerful National Defense Commission. Mr Jang is expected to play a
crucial role in helping the young and inexperienced Kim Jong Un take and
hold power.

Also escorting the limousine were
military chief Ri Yong Ho and People's Armed Forces Minster Kim Yong
Chun. Their presence indicates they will be important players as the
younger Kim consolidates his leadership.

Wailing: North Koreans fell to the ground in 'desperation' as the procession drove by

Out of control: North Korean soldiers found it hard to contain their grief during the funeral procession

Suffer little children: Girls in North Korea wail in this picture released by state media yesterday as they mourn the 'dear leader' who ruled the country for 14 years with an iron grip

Braving: Not even snow and sub-zero temperatures could prevent North Koreans from lining the streets of their capital to pay their respects

Tears: Women and men were joined in their 'grief' of Kim Jong Il's death

Gaggle: The snow continued to fall as North Koreans paid tribute to Kim Jong Il

Top Workers' Party officials Choe
Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam and senior military officer Kim Jong Gak also
were prominent positions, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.

'It shows they will be core powers in
North Korea,' said Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University in
South Korea. 'Particularly, Jang Song Thaek and Ri Yong Ho will be key
to Kim Jong Un's leadership.'

The
military presence at the funeral Wednesday also suggests Kim will
uphold his father's trademark military-first policy, Mr Yoo said.

Mass mourning: North Korean military personnel stand in lines during a funeral for late leader Kim Jong Il, in snowy Pyongyang, North Korea

After
the funeral, the young Kim is expected to cement his power by formally
assuming command of the 1.2million-strong military, becoming general
secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the party's Central
Military Commission, Mr Yoo said.

Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack on
December 17 at the age of 69 after ruling the country for 17 years in a
brutal and repressive dictatorship. For 11 days since Kim's death was
announced, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have paid their
respects to him round the clock.

In freezing temperatures they have
visited portraits of the late leader to bow and lay flowers in a
theatrical show of grief, similar to the one for his father in 1994. Kim's body had been laid in state in a
glass coffin to which his son paid five visits. Kim Jong Un has rapidly
gained prominence
following his father's death.

Paying respects: Kim Jong Un's face is contorted with grief as he looks
on at his late father. Right, former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho
(left) shakes hands with Kim Jong-un after paying her respects

Even
as North Koreans mourned the loss of the second leader the nation has
known, the transition of power to the younger Kim was already under way.
The young man, who is in late 20s, is already being hailed by state
media as the 'supreme leader' of the party, state and army.

In a speech during the memorial, Gen. Kim Jong Gak, a top political officer in the Korean People's Army, said the military will dedicate itself to protecting Kim Jong Un, calling him the "supreme leader of our revolutionary armed forces."

The new leader was joined by his father's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, who is
expected to play a guardian role for her young nephew.

Given Kim Jong Un's inexperience and age - he is in his late
20s - there are questions outside North Korea about whether he is equipped to
lead a nation engaged in sensitive negotiations over its nuclear program and
grappling with decades of economic hardship and chronic food shortages.

However, state media declared the country in
the 'warm care' of his young son as it extended the Kim family's hold on
power to a third generation. Over the past week, state media has
bestowed him with new titles, including 'great successor,' 'supreme
leader' and 'sagacious leader.'

He is believed to have led a private
ceremony earlier Wednesday in the inner sanctum of the Kumsusan Memorial
Palace with top military and party officials.

Remembering: In the image on the left from KRT, North Korea's next leader Kim Jong Un, second left, and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, left, bow their heads at the memorial service. Jong Un is pictured again, right

A public memorial service will take
place at midday tomorrow and include an artillery salute, three
minutes of silence and locomotives and vessels blowing their sirens,
North Korea's Central News Agency said.

Heavy snow was falling in
Pyongyang, which state media characterized in the early days of mourning
as proof that the skies were 'grieving' for Kim Jong Il as well.

According
to reports, the heavy snowfall overnight forced authorities to delay
the funeral for several hours, as Pyongyang citizens were mobilised to
clear the route of the cortege.

Paying tribute: Ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam speaks during the memorial service about the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il

Footage
on state TV showed images of swirling snow, the log cabin in far
northern Mount Paektu where Kim is said to have been born, and the
mountain named after him, where his name is carved into the rocky face
in red.

Earlier, state
television also replayed images of missiles being fired and the April
2009 long-range rocket launch that earned North Korea strengthened U.N.
sanctions.

The U.S.,
South Korea and other nations called it a test for a missile designed to
strike the United States; North Korea said the rocket sent a
communications satellite into space.

North Koreans gather during the memorial as the military staged a huge funeral procession on Wednesday in the snowy streets of the capital Pyongyang for its deceased "dear leader," Kim Jong-il

The funeral for Kim Jong Il's father, Kim Il Sung, was expected to serve as a template for how Kim Jong Il will be mourned.

In
1994, the funeral began with a private ceremony attended by Kim Jong Il
and top officials before a long procession through Pyongyang to Kim Il
Sung Square, the main plaza in the capital, where hundreds of thousands
of mourners were waiting.

North Koreans lined the streets and
filled the air with theatrical wails, many of the women in traditional
black dresses and with white mourning ribbons affixed to their hair.

At the time, details about the
funeral in a country largely isolated from the West were shrouded in
mystery, revealed only after state TV aired segments of the events.

North Korean military personnel pay their respects in honor of thelate North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang

Most
foreigners aside from those living in North Korea were shut out, and
the same is expected this week. Footage
filmed in Pyongyang yesterday showed long lines of people carrying wreaths
and bunches of white flowers toward a building with a huge picture of a
smiling Kim Jong Il on its facade.

They piled flowers beneath the photo, bowing and crying as they stood
in the cold. Some pledged their loyalty to Kim Jong Un. Light traffic
flowed through Pyongyang's streets while people drank hot tea at makeshift
tents set up at the sides of the roads.

In
the Chinese border city of Dandong, across the Yalu River from North
Korea, dozens of people crowded into North Korea's consular offices in a
high-rise building and into a North Korean restaurant across the street
to watch the funeral on television.

Many
were dressed in black and among them were North Koreans, identifiable
by the Kim Il Sung badges on their lapels. Police shooed reporters away
from both venues, keeping them behind cordons.

Half staff: The flag at the North Korean Embassy in London was flying low today in tribute to Kim Jong Il's funeral

Rally: Across the border in South Korea, protesters have been burning the North Korean flag in protest at the succession of Kim Jong Un

Rally: Across the border, South Koreans have been vocal in their disgust that Kim Jong Un is taking over as ruler